Earring



H. MAILAND March 28, 1950 EARRING Filed Oct. 20, 1947 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 28, 1950 EARRING Harry Mailand, Bronx, N. Y.

Application October 20, 1947, Serial No. 780,812

3 Claims.

This invention relates to ear ornaments.

Broadly, it is an object of the invention to provide a means of safely and comfortably wearing an ear ornament which will cover. virtually the entire ear.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide an ear ornament in which the weight of the same is supported at the top and around the back of the ear giving support and preventing the ear ornament from moving outward during movement of the head of the wearer.

Still afurther object is to provide an ear ornamentwhich covers practically the entire car, with a retaining and supporting means'which is hidden from view during wear and which is comfortable and safe. 1.

Another object is to provide a retaining-and supporting means for an ear ornament which covers the entire ear which can be easily bent by the wearer for adjustment for the specific shape of the back of the ear.

A still further object is the provision of an ear ornament which is simple and inexpensive of construction and modern and attractive in appearance.

Other novel features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with. the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of a left ear ornament.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the ear ornament shown in Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the back wire member follows the contour of the ear at its junction with the head and the spring clip for holding the ornament to the lobe of the ear.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the ornament shown in Fig. 1 showing the ornament in supported position on the ear.

Fig. 4 is a rear view of a modified construction of a left ear ornament.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the ornament shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational View of the ornament shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 7 is a rear view of still another modified construction of a left ear ornament.

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view of the ornament shown in Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary front elevational view of one portion of a modified ear ornament showing an ornamental portion attached to the pivoted spring clip.

Referring to the drawing, numeral I ii represents a left ear ornament one of a pair, with 2 ornamental portions ll, l2 and 13 attached to a Wire back member 14, the front of which is at tached to the back of ornamental portion H and then itfollows the contour of the backof the ter ornamental portion [2.

' ear along the line where it joins the head and then is bent around the outside of the ear in a U-shape ll approximately at the center of the ear, the opposite end l5being attached to a cen- A spring clip I6 is soldered to the back of the lower ornamental portion I3 and clips against the back of the ear lobe." Ornamental portions l2 and I3 are held together by a wire I8. Of course, a large variety of designs may be made by connecting the orna-- mental portions with wire while retaining the wire member l4 with the bent part l1 and the clip l6. y

While wire 14 has a certain amount of resiliency, it may be bent by the wearer to conform to the back contour line where the ear meets the head. The U-shaped portion 11 may also beadjusted by the wearer.

The U-shaped portion l1 holds the outside arcuate portion of the ear within its shape with a degree of resiliency which provides no pres sure to inconvenience the wearer at the same time retaining the ear ornament from moving outward from the ear.

Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, numeral l9 represents a modified left ear ornament having a wire back member 20 which is seated upon the back of the ear along the line where the ear meets the head. The free end of wire member 20 has a bead 2| so that the ear is not irritated. The opposite end is bent in a U-shape 22 which terminates at approximately the center of the ear in a similar manner to the member I! described in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. A continuous front ornamental portion 23 runs around and substantially covers the front of the ear. The clip 24 is'attached at the base and at the back of the ornamental portion 23 for clamping to the lobe of the ear. Of course, a large variety of designs may be used with this type of construction.

Referrin to Figs. 7 and 8, numeral 25 represents still another modified ear ornament comprising a wire back member 25 the top end of which is attached to the back of an ornamental portion 27. The central part of wire member 26 is bent in a U-shape 28 for receiving the central 7 arcuate part of the ear while the lower portion 29 is curved downward following the back contour line where the ear meets the head and the to the back of an ornamental portion 33. The outer edge of the ear lies between the Wires 26-21 and the U-shaped member 28 and the ornamental members 21, 33 and 34. It will thus be seen that the entire ornament which covers virtually the entire ear is supported by the wire member and the clip 3! so that the weight of the ear ornament is distributed preventing the ornament from moving outward and firmly retaining the ornament :in position upon the ear.

Referring itolFig. 9 which is still another modification, a portion of which is shown, an ornamental portion 35 is attached to the movable portion of the spring clip 36 so that the ornamental portion 35 will pivot with the clip aiding in retaining the ornament upon the ear. In some designs this arrangement can be placed at the center of the ear ornament and in other designs may be below or above such center.

It is obvious that th'e types of construction above described may be created .in an infinite variety of designs while the construction and arrangement of parts may be varied without departing irom the general spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An earring comprising an ornamental element and means to secure and support said ornamental element on the outer aspect of the ear, said means comprising in part a wire member curved to ,fit the contour of the back of the ear substantially along the line where the ear joins the head, said wire member, at the middle of the ear, having a ubend extending around from the back of the ear around to the outer aspect of the .ear, the ornamental element being secured to the terminus of the lJ-bend and resting against the outer aspect of the ear, a member dependingfrom the U-bend, and in part a spring clip on said member for gripping the ear lobe, said depending member extending downwardly from the terminus of the U-bendalong the outer aspect of the ear with the spring clip being secured at the bottom thereof.

2. An earring as in claim 1, in which the ornamental member extends along the frontal aspect of the outer marginal edge of the ear around from the top to the bottom thereof, and the spring clip for the ear lobe is secured to said ornamental member at the bottom thereof.

3. An earring comprising a plurality of ornamental elements and means to support said elements on the outer aspect of the ear, said means comprising in part a wire member curved to fit the contour of the back of the ear along the line where the ear joins the head, the front end of said wire member, at the top of the ear, and the portion of the wire member at the middle of the ear, each having a U-bend extending from behind the ear and around to the outer aspect thereof, the ornamental elements being secured to the terminals of the U-bends at the outer aspect of the ear, a member disposed against the outer aspect of the' ear extending downwardly from the terminus of the U-clip at the middle of the ear, 'anda spring "clip attached to said member at the bottom thereof for gripping the ear lobe, 'and'an ornamental element secured to the outer aspect of the spring clip.

HARRY MAILAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number ame Date 236,935 Claude Jan. 25, 1881 "2,391,635 Mark Dec. 25, 1945 2,409,369 Curto Oct. 15, 1946 2,4;14382 McCann Jan. 14, 194"? 2,453,485 Axte'll Nov. 9, 1948 I FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 582,658 Great Britain May 18, 1945 

